Situational Interview Preparation and Practice

Situational interview questions ask what the interviewer would
do in a specific, hypothetical job situation. This is an example of
such a question: "You have an angry customer on the phone who is
complaining about the cost of our services and has said that they would
like a refund. What do you do?"

How would you deal with this
situation is an example of a situational answer. Unlike behavior
descriptive questions, which ask you to recount a past behavior in a
specific situation, a situational question is hypothetical, though you
could use an example from your past to explain the justification for
your answer.

Situational questions can be used in business
interviews to determine how experienced or ethical the candidate is.
Though a situational question is speculative, you should use reason and
be prepared to justify your answer according to your experience and
knowledge.

Most situational questions are asked in the conditional tense, as in How would you..., unlike behavior descriptive questions which use the past tense and begin with Tell me about a time when...

Preparation

Situational interview questions are usually specific to your industry
or the position you are applying for. If you are applying for a
customer service position, expect questions about the client
relationship. If you are working in a collaborative environment, where
you are expected to work with colleagues closely and frequently, expect
situational questions about peer relationships and difficulties with
dealing with coworkers.

Situational questions often ask you to
apply the knowledge that you have gained in your studies or through
professional experience. If you are just starting out in your career,
it is probably unlikely that you have experienced ethical quandaries or
had experience with corruption, as a young professional business
person, civil servant or diplomat may be expected to deal with. You
will have to rely on your training and education to explain what you
think would be the best solution to the question.

Reading books like Boost Your Interview I.Q.,
which has sample questions and three potential answers to select from,
will help you learn about the types of responses required for these
types of questions. A simple search online will turn up several
different situational interview questions, though you should also
include keyword terms, such as accountant, customer service or foreign service, to get the best questions for your profession.

However, begin a knowledgeable, ethical and collegial person is often
hard to fake, so studying to concoct the best answer to please the
interviewer may not work. Often employers are skeptical of the
responses they receive from situational questions, since they seem like
fiction, so speaking glibly or too rehearsed will not help you in the
interview.

Practice

You can read books and
visit websites with situational interview questions, but you should
also prepare by composing some possible answers. Run your responses by
a friend or relative, especially another professional in the same
field, to get their perspective on your answers. Most career counselors
and career centers will offer a mock interview service, for a small
fee, that you should take advantage of, so you get feedback from a
critical, well trained partner. Beyond situational questions, mock
interview preparation will help your overall performance in the
interview, especially if you are nervous, or if this is your first
professional position.